


Texture, Color, Pattern, Shine

by secretsidgenowriter



Series: Tumblr Prompts [20]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Clothing, Fluff, Getting Together, Hockey Player Sid, M/M, Stylist Geno, fashion - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-04 22:04:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14029764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretsidgenowriter/pseuds/secretsidgenowriter
Summary: Geno opens the attachment and frowns. Sid closet is full of black athletic wear. There might be a suit jacket hanging in the corner but it blends right in with everything else.He takes basic and boring to a new level.Do you ever do patterns? Or colors? Geno asks in his follow up email.There’s gold on the jersey, Sid sends back.Geno knows he’s in for it.





	Texture, Color, Pattern, Shine

When Geno first gets the job with the Penguins he asks the guys to send him a photo of their closet.

It help him get a feel for their style. It’s a good starting point.

Most of the guys are okay. A little basic and a little boring but pretty typical of athletes. Most of them show promise. They could be fun to style.

Sidney Crosby is the last one to send his photo in.

 _Sorry I’m late_ , the emails says. _I got busy and forgot._

Geno rolls his eyes but he is a little endeared. Nice, Canadian boy apologizing over nothing.

Geno opens the attachment and frowns. Sid closet is full of black athletic wear. There might be a suit jacket hanging in the corner but it blends right in with everything else.

He takes basic and boring to a new level.

 _Do you ever do patterns? Or colors?_ Geno asks in his follow up email. 

 _There’s gold on the jersey_ , Sid sends back.

Geno knows he’s in for it.

-

Sid wears a black hoodie and a pair of jeans when they meet face to face for the first time.

Geno had asked him if they could meet up to discuss his style.

Sid answered back with _I didn’t know I had style_ but sent him a list of dates and times that he would be free.

He looks good in the outfit- as uninspired as it might be.

It’s casual and that’s okay. This isn’t really a business meeting. Geno suggested a fun Mexican restaurant downtown and there’s a couple of college girls in the corner wearing plaid pajama pants and moccasins.

Geno keeps stealing looks at him as they look over the menu and quickly decides that he just looks good even with the bit of salsa clinging to his upper lip.

“So why did you want to meet me, specifically,” Sid asks and Geno rips his eyes away from his mouth when his tongue darts out to catch the salsa. “Unless you’re going to meet with the other guys.”

“Other guys don’t need as much help.”

Sid looks appropriately offended.

“Just saying other guys not as visible as you. You’re the face of the team. Still face of the league. Important to look your best.”

“You know I’ve been doing this since I was eighteen.”

“Then maybe it’s time to stop dressing like an eighteen year old.”

They make eye contact over the table and for a split second Geno thinks maybe he took it too far.

But then Sid tips his head back and laughs and Geno goes warm all over.

-

“Think I’m going to write a book,” Geno says as he holds two different ties up to Sid’s collar.

There’s a soft pink one and a striped blue one. Each time he raises the pink one up Sid’s face twists. Geno is kind of enjoying messing with him even though he genuinely wants to put it on him because it will look the best. It would be a subtle pop of color against his navy blue suit.

He also kind of wants to break Sid’s brain and put him in the floral patterned one that’s still hanging on the hook.

Sid relaxes when he holds up the blue again. “What would you write about?”

“How toxic masculinity impacts the selection of ties based on color.”

Sid gives him a flat look as he tosses the pink tie onto the table and loops the blue one around Sid’s neck.

“I just like the blue one better.”

Geno hums. “That’s fine. Have to think about why you like it better.”

“It’s just a tie.”

Geno slides the knot up to the base of Sid’s throat. The back of his fingers catch on the stubble that’s growing along his jaw. Sid looks up at him from beneath his lashes.

“Never just a tie,” Geno says as he straightens out the pocket square and pats him on the chest. “Have fun tonight.”

-

Geno isn’t just a stylist. Although that’s a full time job on its own.

He’s also a writer; he just hasn’t written a book. Yet.

After a bit of googling Sid finds article after article in magazines with Geno’s name at the bottom. He reads them on his tablet before bed and during breakfast at the rink and on the plane during roadies.

He writes about everything. About men and women and how fashion shapes and molds their everyday lives.

He writes about how quick fashion changes from year to year to culture to culture and what can influence it. Politics, pop culture, even food.

_“They put avocados on everything…but to make them into earrings….I don’t know.”_

Geno is funny and interesting and Sid’s the first to admit that he doesn’t care about fashion but he does care about what Geno has to say about it.

He cares what Geno has to say. Period.

Geno has works in several different magazines. _Elle, In Style, Glamour, GQ, Esquire._

His newest is in _Cosmo_ and Sid stares at Lupita Nyong’o on the cover in the bodega in New York City.

They’re supposed to be buying some late night Gatorade to help with the buzz they’re feeling after hitting up a bar.

Tanger and Brassy are a constant stream of French from one of the back aisles while Jake and Rusty commiserate over there only being red and yellow Gatorade in the coolers and no blue or purple.

“Ten ways to make your man scream your name in bed.”

Sid snaps his hand away from the magazine and barely stops himself from jumping when Riley slides up beside him. “You meet someone, Cap. Holding out on us?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Sid says. “Geno’s new article is in here.”

“Oh, _Geno_ ,” Riley says like Sid’s supposed to know what that tone means.

“Shut up,” he says again and Riley laughs as he tosses a pack of Ding Dongs onto the counter. Sid gives them a look.

“They stop a hangover like nothing else. Don’t judge.”

“You don’t judge,” he mumbles as he snatches the magazine off the rack and puts it on the counter.

Riley smiles at him then pats him on the back.

Geno’s article is less about fashion and more about himself.

After reading it Sid wishes he could write an autobiography because there’s a story and a half there.

Geno writes about his family and Russia and Russian fashion.

_It’s the best, he writes, beautiful and over the top and interesting. There’s nothing like it. But of course I might be biased._

He writes about leaving.

_I love it there. I always will but it became more and more clear that I couldn’t do what I loved there. I couldn’t love who I love there. I couldn’t live like that so I left. My story is not unique. Yes, I ran from a contract to dress an influential head of state in the middle of the night and had to squeeze out of a bathroom window in Finland to make my connecting flight to America, but at the heart of it, it’s all the same. We’re all just fighting to be who we are. To live our lives. And to look as good as possible while we do it._

_-_

“Can I try that jacket?”

Geno hums and looks over at the rack of jackets. “More specific.”

“The black one.”

Geno spins around to face him. They’re all black.

“The one with the purple lining,” Sid says with a huff and Geno looks hesitant.

“Purple? Purple is a color, Sid.”

“I know that. I think it would look nice. I like it.”

Geno claps his hands together and then presses them to the sides of Sid’s neck.

He kisses both of Sid’s cheeks then slips away to grab the coat off the hanger.

“So proud of you,” he says as he holds the coat open so Sid can slide his arms through. Sid’s face is pink and his skin feels hot to the touch when Geno’s hands graze it as he straightens out he collar. “Is like you actually listen to me.”

“Of course I listen. I’m an athlete I have to take direction.”

“Out on the ice, yes, but in here….could just tune me out.”

“No,” Sid says as he fiddles with the buttons. “I couldn’t do that.”

Geno smiles so hard his cheeks start to hurt. “Maybe next time we get you into a pattern.”

“Baby steps,” Sid says and Geno only smiles harder.

-

Sid only wears the coat from the bus to the arena and then back out again but Geno watches the footage from the broadcast over and over on his work computer.

He left it unbuttoned so the camera could pick up on the lining as he walked and as soon as he steps out of frame Geno slides the time bar back to the beginning.

His phone sings beside him and when he looks it’s a text from Sid.

_Can you find me this shirt?_

Then there are four rapid texts in a row, all pictures.

They’ve been texting instead of emailing for months now.

It feels more personal especially when Sid forgets the time difference when he’s on the west coast and asks him if he should buy a pair of brightly colored socks.

 _They’re socks Sid. Best way to express yourself. Always get socks_.

A minute later Sid texted him a picture of grey socks with tiny penguins on them.

 _Going to get these for you_.

_I would love. Get biggest size. Big feet._

Sid texted back the eye roll emoji and Geno laid in bed and tried to convince himself that they weren’t actually flirting.

Now, Geno pauses the video and opens the texts. They’re all photos of himself from a decade ago in a truly terrible blue sweater with a striped linen shirt layered underneath.

 _I think I could pull it off,_ Sid texts.

Geno retaliates by sending off a series of texts with all of Sid’s fashion missteps over the years. There’s a lot to choose from from those unfortunate draft day photos with Mario to the bizarre denim on denim photo from an official shoot where he’s shirtless with a giant belt buckle on his jeans. The latter of which is actually oddly appealing.

But Sid doesn’t need to know he thinks that.

_I was young. I didn’t know any better._

_Excuse excuse_

_I don’t dress like that anymore._

_Thank god._

Geno sends him one last photo. It’s of Sid in the locker room with bright yellow crocs on his feet.

_They’re comfortable. I’m on my feet a lot._

_Do you still wear them?_

_No._

_Good. If you did I would quit._

“Sid looks so good in that coat, oh my god.”

Geno jumps and drops his phone as Heather, the newest intern, leans against his desk next to him. He didn’t even hear her walk up.

“Color and shine. All he needs is texture and pattern and he’s there.”

“Don’t know if that will happen anytime soon. Need to be happy with the coat.”

“It’s a great coat. You’re doing such a good job with him. I hear hockey players are the hardest to dress. Stubborn and picky.”

Geno’s pretty sure she heard that specifically about Sid.

“I guess football players are alright but NBA players are the most fun. Maybe someday I’ll get to style them. I think I’d get frustrated with a hockey player.”

On the desk his phone dings.

_Don’t quit. I don’t know what I would do without you._

Geno reads it over and over until the screen goes black.

“They’re not so bad.”

-

Geno’s working late trying to throw together a last minute outfit for Emma Stone when there’s a knock on his office door.

When he looks up there’s Sid in dark wash jeans and a short sleeved button down. It has small geometric shapes all over it. _Pattern._

“Sid. Back from Vegas already?”

“Took a flight right after the awards. Didn’t see much point in sticking around.”

“Must be excited for summer. Sorry you didn’t win Hart. Were robbed.”

“It’s okay.” He shrugs and takes a seat when Geno nods to the chairs on the other side of the desk. “I’ll settle for the Cup and the Conn Smythe.”

“How unselfish of you,” Geno teases and Sid gives him a small, content smile.

It fades away as quick as it came and Geno pushes his laptop away from him. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just going to miss you.”

“Don’t need me over the summer, Sid. Can trust you to dress yourself when you’re home. For parade in your hometown you can wear a Pens shirt, hanging out at home or on the lake you can wear board shorts and t-shirt. I’ll even let you wear flip flops. You earned it for that cute shirt.”

Sid looks down at it and Geno tips his head.

“Why you look so sad? Should be happy.”

“I’m going to miss you.”

“Already said that. I’ll be right here when you get back.”

“That’s not good enough,” he says quietly. “This isn’t….” He shifts in the chair. “I might be reading this wrong so you can turn me down if you want and I’ll forget all about it and we’ll move on but I guess what I’m wondering is if you have any vacation time this summer? Or if you don’t do you want to have dinner with me when I get back? Whatever. Whichever.”

“Yes.”

Sid blinks at him. “To what?”

“To both.”

“Oh.”

“That’s what you want, right?”

Sid pitches forward with a laugh and reaches his arms across the desk. Geno covers Sid’s hands with his own. Sid rubs his thumb across Geno’s knuckles.

“Yes. More than anything.”

-

They make eye contact in the mirror and Sid tries to scowl but he can’t quite seem to hide his smile behind it.

“We’re not supposed to see each other before the ceremony.”

Geno softly shuts the door behind him. “Think that only works for bride and groom. Groom and groom are immune to it.” He wraps his arms around Sid’s waist and props his chin on his shoulder. “Had to make sure you looked good before you walk down aisle. Only do this once, Sid.”

“Why wouldn’t I look good? You picked this out for me. Of course I look good.”

Geno presses his face into the side of Sid’s neck. He kisses the soft skin there then slides his hands down the blush pink tie he has on. It’s the same shade as Taylor’s dress and just a bit lighter than the one Geno has on. They wanted to go together. Not match exactly.

“Maybe I just wanted to see you one last time as my fiance. Next time I see you you’ll be my husband.”

“Do you think I’ll look different after that?”

“Don’t know. Just know I’ll still like you.”

“Just like,” Sid asks with one eyebrow raised and Geno spins him around and Geno slides his hand up from the end of the tie to the side of his face and kisses him. He sucks on Sid’s bottom lip just enough to tease and when he pulls back Sid’s eyes are still closed.

He’s beautiful and Geno will love him in and out of everything.

“Come on,” he says as Sid blinks his eyes open. “Go get married, have reception, dance, eat, have fun. Then I take you back to hotel room and get you out of tux.”

“You spent how many years dressing me and now you want me naked?”

Geno steps in close and snakes his arm around Sid’s back. His hand drift lower and squeezes his ass. “Always want that, Sid.”

Sid bites his lip and shakes his head then reaches around and grabs Geno’s hand.

“Then come on then. What are we waiting for?”

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is [ here.](https://secret-sidgeno-writer.tumblr.com/)


End file.
